Fragments of the Soul
by fullmoonrisin
Summary: "An eternity with nothing to do but kill and wallow in pain could drive even a sane person mad...but, what of someone who lost their sanity long ago, Gabrielle?" Months of confinement in the cave have given Callisto time to reflect on her life path. What will she do with these new thoughts? How will Xena, Gabrielle, and Callisto cope with being forced to team up yet again?
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so this is my first attempt at X:WP fanfiction. I'm trying something a little out of the box so bear with me! It'll delve more into the aftermath of Solan's death from Callisto's side. Anyway, this takes place somewhere between The Bitter Suite and The Sacrifice. I hope you enjoy!

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Ch.1: Defeat

As the morning sun drifted closer into the noon position, two women trekked along a small road. They were Xena: Warrior Princess of Amphipolis, and Gabrielle: Amazon Queen and Bard of Potidaea. The present moment found the pair travelling towards Corinth after a brief stay in Amphipolis at Cyrene's inn. They had decided against taking the shorter sea route due to Xena's less than friendly relationship with the sea god.

"I wonder what Salmoneus wants this time." Gabrielle, ever the curious one, pondered to herself as they continued to step further away from Xena's home. While at the inn, a messenger had arrived sending word to Xena that Salmoneus required her aid as soon as possible. She grimaced at the memory of the last time old Sal had "urgent" business to attend to.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, you can be sure that I'm not wearing a dress this time." Xena replied flatly.

The bitter remark prompted a smile from the bard, "Complain all you want, Xena, you know you were a shoe-in for that contest."

"Well…that is true." Xena muttered, "Still, I don't do dresses."

Gabrielle merely chuckled at her friend and decided to drop the subject for the moment. It happened that she'd been working on a new story and the long journey from Amphipolis to Corinth would provide the bard a necessary opportunity to perfect the tale. In the meantime, however, she opted for something different.

"Hey Xena, how about a game to pass the time?"

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"The question game; you start."

"Are you an object?" Xena smirked as she asked the question. This game was always easy against someone as open as Gabrielle was. There was much that the bard had yet to learn of Xena's dark past, but in their time travelling together, the warrior had come to learn most of the memories, secrets, fears, and general idiosyncrasies that made up her companion.

"Nope."

"A mortal?"

"Yes."

"Living?"

"Yes."

* * *

As Xena and Gabrielle continued the trek towards their destination, a figure stepped out of a cave that lay but a stone's throw away from Corinth; just outside of the Telaquire Amazon territory.

" Ugh. Finally! I thought I'd never be free from under that rubble."

From her black riding boots all the way up to her messy blonde mane there was no denying that the Warrior Queen was a sinister sight, but as she stepped away from the cave and towards Corinth, there was a strange new air surrounding Callisto. Her shoulders slumped slightly, the sneer that usually could be found on her lips had been chased away by an expression of utter boredom, and the maniacal gleam that lived in her eyes seemed to have found a roommate in the form of mild sadness. Not that anyone would really notice these things unless they were allowed to observe the woman close enough—or long enough—to distinguish this watered down pathetic wench of a goddess from the raging monster she had been before finally succeeding in hurting her archenemy.

At the time, she had eagerly delighted in hearing Xena's screams of anguish as she cradled her fallen boy, but her months of incarceration beneath the rubble had changed that. As a goddess she could no longer sleep, and yet she still found herself plagued by thoughts of her family; more so even than before she got her revenge. Each time she thought of them, Xena's parting words would ring in her head. She remembered the Xena saying that she would live with her own pain. Callisto _was_ living with her pain, and Xena had known that. She knew all along that her death, the death of Argo, of Gabriel, or any of the nameless other victims would do nothing at all to assuage the pain the goddess felt of having her family and childhood ripped away. Callisto had become so accustomed to her pain that she didn't notice her soul slowly being killed in her quest for revenge.

The bitch of it all was the knowledge that Xena had won. She had won long before blows had ever been exchanged between the pair because the choice had always been Callisto's to make, and she'd always been hell bent to see Xena suffer as she had, even after she learned that her foe had already suffered long before Cirra.

That fact was even more upsetting when Callisto thought about her family. She was here, and she had achieved her revenge, but for what? She had become exactly what she despised about the old Xena in her pursuit of vengeance, she was a goddess so she couldn't die, not by normal means anyway, and if she could, she had long ago assured herself a one way ticket to Tartarus. She was never going to see her family again.

The storm inside her head continued all the way until just before dusk. Sure, she could've just teleported to the next town, but the easy way was for someone on a schedule. She needn't hurry for anything anymore. There was nothing to live for, and nothing to die for; only constant torment here on Earth and waiting for her in Tartarus. She was in no hurry.

Suddenly, the train of thoughts came to an abrupt halt and the blonde warrior stood in the middle of the path as still as stone. She was being followed. Callisto could hear his footsteps edging closer as he continued his approach and a sneer covered her face. This man was either very stupid, or didn't recognize who she was.

"Hey cutie," The brute spoke in a voice that was oozing with ill intent. "What's a pretty woman like you doing out so late? _All _alone at that." He stopped just inches away from her and she distinctly heard the sound of a dagger being unsheathed. So predictable, really.

"What's it to you?" Callisto remained standing with her back to the man, becoming increasingly annoyed at his textbook idiocy.

He laughed arrogantly at the response. "Oh, now don't be that way. All I want is a few dinars…" His free hand wandered to a lock of Callisto's blonde hair, "and maybe something else."

She grimaced in disgust that the swine behind her actually thought he was in control here and in one swift movement, she batted his hand away and spun around to face him, watching as he fell to the ground in shock.

"Alright," She spat, seeing his eyes go wide with recognition. "You want a piece of me?" She raised a finger and pointed it squarely at his face. Her posture was akin to a rattlesnake just about to strike. The poor fool really should've read the warning signs while he could still walk away. "Take one."

With that, the unfortunate highwayman was reduced to little more than a blackened corpse as the Warrior Queen continued on her way.

* * *

Three days after leaving Amphipolis, the Battling Bard and Warrior Princess found themselves on the road to Corinth, just a half day away. They had taken a brief stop-over in Amazon territory the previous evening and the mood since they left had been silent. Xena, for her part, still felt guilty that her rash actions in the aftermath of Solan's death had resulted in the injury of several Amazons. Ephiny had been more than willing to forgive though, even go as far as to say she might act the same if Xenan were ever to be killed.

Gabrielle felt ashamed upon hearing that declaration from her regent's lips. Though it was carefully spoken without any judgmental or angry tones directed at her, the bard couldn't help but think that maybe Ephiny resented her as well. Xenan had, in fact, nearly been killed when Callisto and Hope parted ways. That would've been her fault too.

Maybe she was just dwelling too much on the whole incident.

"Xena?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we'll ever really be able to get past what happened?" Gabrielle's voice was small and thick with various negative emotions, prompting the other woman to stop walking and look directly at her. To Gabrielle's surprise, she smiled, albeit a little sadly.

"Remember what we learned in Illusia." She placed a hand warmly on Gabrielle's shoulder. "Yes, it will take some time to heal completely, but if we dwell on the past, we can't move on from it." She broke eye contact and continued walking down the path. "We'll always bear the scars, but we'll be okay."

Gabrielle stood rooted to the spot for just a moment, still unsure, but allowed her feet to move again as her friend's words chased away her pain and guilt for the moment.

They hadn't been walking much longer when both of them stopped in their tracks at the sight of the charred body that still lay in the middle of the trail. Xena kneeled down next to the man to examine him more closely.

"He was a thug." She commented, noting that what she could identify of his attire was consistent with the typical clothing of choice among most road bandits.

"Xena, these burn marks…"

The Warrior Princess nodded seeing that there was no obvious trace of a fire anywhere else.

"I know…Callisto."

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Well, that's chapter one. I hope you liked it; please R&R! This was basically an introduction into where each of the main players in the story is at mentally, I plan to make the chapters longer from here.


	2. An Interesting Proposition

Hello again! For those of you who read/reviewed chapter one, I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Anyway, I don't own anything. Please R&R!

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Ch.2: An Interesting Proposition

"Xena! Gabby!" Salmoneus greeted, wrapping them both in a bear hug. "I'm so glad to see you!" As he pulled away, he attempted to grab one of Xena's breasts, but exclaimed in pain as he found his wrist twisted sharply.

"It's good to see you too, Salmoneus. Now get to the point; why are we here?" Ever since they'd come across the scorched body in the road, Xena's mind had been elsewhere. She decided to finish what they came for as quickly as possible and then hunt for Callisto. "Not another beauty pageant, I hope."

"Well…" Sal shrunk under the warrior's disapproving glare, "singing contest, actually." Then as Xena opened her mouth in what was sure to be a protest, he rushed to explain a further detail. "Oh, but you won't have to wear a dress."

"So what's the problem?" Gabrielle piped up, wondering how they came to be in this city.

"Apparently, one of the contestants—Celeste—has been targeted. There have already been two attempts on the girl's life. It was only by sheer luck that they didn't succeed." Salmoneus wrung his hands nervously as he spoke. If one of the contestants were to be harmed it would mean his hide.

"That sounds simple enough," Xena spoke up, "I'll just enter the contest myself posing as this Celeste woman."

Salmoneus shook his head, "No, no, no. You don't look enough like her. Even with a wig, anyone would spot you a mile off. I'm afraid you'll have to infiltrate the contest."

"Hey, what about me?" Gabrielle asked in a somewhat indignant tone. The travelling salesman laughed outright at the question while Xena tried desperately, but in vain, to keep a smile from spreading across her face.

"Gabrielle…it's a singing contest." Salmoneus pointed out, receiving a glare from the Amazon Queen before she turned to address Xena. "That's figured out, now what about Callisto?"

Salmoneus perked up at the name, his reaction wasn't the expected one of fear, but one of interest.

"I don't know, I haven't gotten that far. We can't kill her, so we need some way to trap her again."

"Wait a minute," Salmoneus broke up their private conversation, "Did you say…Callisto?"

With hatred in her eyes and anger coating her otherwise calm voice, Xena answered, "That's right."

"You mean _the _Callisto?"

Gabrielle arched an eyebrow at his odd behavior, "Are you a fan, Salmoneus?"

"No, no. Don't be absurd. It's just that…Callisto would be a dead ringer for Celeste." He rubbed his beard thoughtfully, pondering the possibility. True enough it would be beyond impossible to convince someone such as Callisto to enter a singing competition, but if anyone could to it, Xena was the person for the job.

"Wait, what are you saying, Salmoneus?" Gabrielle asked with wide eyes, "Are you suggesting that we convince one of the most vicious killers in Greece to parade around in some contest to _save _someone's _life?_" Are you insane?!"

"_Can _she sing?" Salmoneus wondered, almost completely ignoring the bard's rant.

Xena deadpanned, "We don't know. In all the fighting it never came up." Her demeanor changed as she bore harshly into the man before her with an icy glare, "And anyway, why would I work with the woman who helped kill my son?"

The bard felt a mix of guilt, sadness, and anger at the warrior's words. Unintentional as it was, _she _had also helped to kill Solan. No matter how far behind them the pair put the Hope incident, that was a fact that neither could ever erase. Also, given the fact that Gabrielle was still Xena's best friend and that Callisto had once worked with them despite her own pain, she found Xena's stance on the issue to be hypocritical.

"What about Callisto?" Gabrielle spoke up, looking Xena directly in the eyes with a fierce gaze. "She helped us defeat Velasca and you were responsible for the death of her entire family."

Xena opened her mouth to try and argue the point, but Gabrielle stood her ground. This was an argument worth having. "No Xena. She may be a bigger monster than you used to be, but what she did to you is no different from what you did to her."

The words were harsh—harsh enough to snap the Warrior Princess out of her blind hatred as if she'd been struck like a whip, but the tone was gentle and lacking in any trace of accusation. Xena nodded at the truth of her friend's speech. This wasn't about her anyway; it was about the life of an innocent woman.

Xena addressed Salmoneus, "We'll see what we can do. If you need us you can find us at the tavern."

"Oh, thank you!" He cried, shaking their hands as they headed off in the direction of the local watering hole.

* * *

"So, what are we going to do once we find her?" Gabrielle asked, taking a sip of the wine in front of her, "She's already a Goddess, it's not like she has any incentive to help us."

"Ah. One step ahead of you." Xena raised a finger. The confused look that fell over her friend's face prompted her to elaborate. "What does Callisto want more than anything else…even more than to get revenge on me?"

"To die, but Xena…"

"Which is why we tell her that I have the Dagger of Helios; she's been in that cave for months. For all she knows, we've been travelling around looking for a way to kill a god just to get back at her."

"But we don't have the dagger." Gabrielle's expression went flat as she wondered how Xena could overlook such an obvious flaw in the plan.

"No," Xena smirked and the bard could see the gears turning behind her eyes, "but we don't need it. When I sent you to get our drinks here, I stopped off at the blacksmith and gave him a simple sketch. It should be enough to fool someone who's never seen the dagger."

With that explanation, the amazon seemed to be more accepting of the plan and went back to sipping on wine. "So, I guess we should go see to the girl then? It'll be a bit before that dagger is ready."

Xena nodded her agreement, but was interrupted from saying anything by a loud and boisterous yell from the doorway.

"Xena!"

The women both turned in response and Xena cracked a wry smile at the sight of the man who had called for her; just another sore loser with a score to settle.

"Tyndareus, you're looking well." She spoke coolly, addressing the man who had walked into the tavern in front of the bitter warlord and then pretended to examine the latter more closely, "but I think you have something stuck on your boot. No, I'm wrong; it's just Bardas."

Tyndareus and several of the other men in the tavern snickered at the comment while Bardas began seething even more than he already was. "You bitch!"

This only caused Xena's smirk to widen and Gabrielle noted the sparkle of mischief in her eyes. She decided to sit back and watch as it seemed that there was no real threat here and the man would be taken care of soon enough.

"That's no way to talk to a woman, Bardas. I take it the last lesson I gave you didn't teach you any manners." Xena was still relaxed in her chair with feet now propped up on the table, but the fingers of her left hand lightly traced her whip. Her eyes were locked with his and there was a playful gleam about them, but at the same time there was a seriousness that both warned him to stay away and dared him to attack. The ball was firmly in his court.

He huffed at Xena's remark. "Manners? Manners are for royalty. I'll show you what I know." Just about every occupant in the tavern aside from the bard and warrior princess cringed as he spoke, knowing that what was to come next wouldn't be pretty. And indeed it wasn't.

In a surprising display of agility for his bulky size, the man unsheathed a knife and leaped into the air towards the table, only to have Xena's whip wrap around his ankle and bring him crashing down back to the ground with a loud thud. Each time he tried to get up, Xena would yank the whip and send him crashing into an obstacle. Six attempts later, he finally begged for her to stop and walked out of the pub with his tail between his legs.

Xena smiled, standing up and leaving a few coins on the table while several of the patrons cheered.

"Now, let's go see about that girl."

* * *

"You!" Celeste's shout was accompanied by various objects being thrown from her room and in the direction of the Warrior Princess while Salmoneus and Gabrielle urged her to calm down. Xena just stood in the hallway with a mixture of supreme shock and confusion written on her face as more objects occasionally went flying in her direction.

From the moment she had laid eyes on Celeste there was no denying it: She and Callisto were related. But it couldn't be, could it? Callisto had always claimed that she was the only member of the family to survive the raid on Cirra.

Maybe she just thought she was.

No matter how they had come to find themselves in this predicament, the task Salmoneus had given them had just been made even more difficult.

Through all of the incoherent crying and babbling, they could make out cries of "She killed my family!" and "My baby sister!" That made both Xena and Gabrielle's hearts break for the woman. While reuniting the two sisters within their capability, Callisto was so far gone that the prospect of a happy reunion seemed out of reach. Gabrielle didn't even have to look at Xena to know that she was beating herself up over this.

Several more minutes passed before Celeste regained her senses. It was then that Xena moved for the first time since they arrived at the girl's room. She knew what she had to do.

"Celeste?" She spoke gently and soothingly, "Look at me." She was almost verbally prodding the girl to look her in the face.

Surprisingly, Celeste did as Xena asked with no resistance and when she did, she was surprised to see tears in the eyes of the woman who had killed her family. "What do you see?" Xena asked, letting her emotional guard down and letting the normally stoic expression she wore crumble.

Again, the blonde did as she was asked and looked hard into those blue eyes. The first thing that struck her was how soft they looked. The last time she had laid eyes on Xena, those eyes were cold and betrayed no emotion, nor did her face. Now, though, Celeste was able to read numerous different emotions: sorrow, guilt, regret, and even compassion. It was hard to believe that this _was_ that same woman she'd encountered years earlier.

"Celeste," The warrior spoke again, as gently as she had the first time, "the Xena who killed your family is dead. There is nothing I want to do more than help you stay alive."

Once again, the siren read the emotions on the warrior's face and recognized that her words were true. She might want to hate Xena for that day, and she might never find it in herself to forgive, but the truth was that Xena felt deeply remorseful for the sins of her past, and she would not allow harm to come to Celeste.

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Well, here's Two! For those reading, I hope you enjoy it! Please R & R!


	3. A Plan In Motion

Hello again! Welcome to the third installment of FOTR! Enjoy the read and thank you for reading/reviewing/following, what have you. I don't own Xena: Warrior Princess, I just enjoy borrowing the characters from Rob Tapert and playing with them for a while before returning them (mostly) unscathed.

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Ch. 3:

Xena pulled Gabrielle out into the hallway outside of Celeste's room at the small inn.

"Listen, I'm going back into town." Xena whispered, making sure that the girl they were here to protect wouldn't hear the subject of their conversation. "I need you to stay here and look after the girl; maybe look into some of the other contestants."

Gabrielle seemed concerned, "Are you sure you want to go looking for Callisto by yourself?"

She knew it made the most sense to divide and conquer in this case, but the bard couldn't help but worry for her friend's safety. The Warrior Queen, after all, had never been one to hold back when it came to Xena and given their reason for seeking her out, the bard doubted Callisto would be receptive.

Xena understood her friend's apprehension and sighed, laying a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder, "It's for the best. Callisto has always been easier to handle alone, and we both know Salmoneus would be about as useless as a bowl of mud for protecting her."

Gabrielle laughed, "That is true. So how much do I say to Celeste? I mean, she's not just going to find out her sister's alive; she's going to find out that she's a monster."

Xena looked pained at the thought of it. More than ten years had passed since that day at Cirra and both sisters were still horribly scarred from it in their own ways. The most terrible tragedy of it was that, after all the screaming, anger, and tears Xena had just witnessed that had been caused by the monster she used to be, she bore the knowledge that Callisto had become the same person from Cirra that both sisters despised.

On the other hand, Xena had spent all this time trying to get through to the broken warrior in the midst of all their bitter conflict. Maybe Celeste would finally be able to.

"Only tell her as much as you need to," Xena replied to Gabrielle's question, "I think it's best if we don't mention Callisto to her for the time being…something tells me she may not believe you if you try anyway."

With that, the Warrior Princess stalked off down the hallway, leaving Gabrielle to ponder how best to handle the situation with the woman in the other room. It wasn't long though until a mortified scream derailed her train of thought. Acting swiftly, the amazon took her staff from its perch against the wall and charged into Celeste's bed chamber.

Gabrielle had come in ready for a fight, but what she had found was both confusing and stunning. Okay…so maybe the sight of Joxer lying spread eagle and dazed at the feet of someone whose feathers he had unwittingly ruffled wasn't that surprising. Still, the relative ease with which this quiet, mild-mannered woman had managed to throw him when she was far from being a warrior was quite a sight.

Maybe she and Callisto weren't _complete_ opposites.

"Joxer!" Gabrielle held out a hand and heaved him up off the floor. "What are you doing here?"

He still looked as if he were seeing birds circling around his head as he struggled to regain his balance. "Ow." He picked his helmet up off the floor and brushed it off before placing it back on his head.

"I was in the area and heard you were here." He groaned, and cracked his back into proper alignment as Celeste chuckled at the display and Gabrielle questioned him further, "So you came in through the window?"

"Well…I kind of…" He trailed off gazing around the room.

"What?"

"I kind of owe some money to the innkeeper. It's no big deal, really! Ow!" Joxer began to sink to his knees when the bard grabbed his nose and twisted sharply. "Joxer!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"I do _not_ need this right now." Gabrielle hissed into Joxer's ear. "Now, you are gonna go, and you are going to pay what you owe."

Joxer chuckled nervously as the bard loosened her grip on his ear and he stood from the floor. "It's actually not that simple. You see I owe him a gambling debt and…" Gabrielle glared at the goofball warrior disapprovingly. She already knew exactly where this was going.

"You don't have the money, do you?"

The present time found Corinth's town square bustling with activity. The townsfolk bustled about the streets, some moving from one street vendor to the next, while others simply mingled among their brethren as they went on about their various chores. The town crier could be heard shouting out the latest bits of important news and decrees of the king while peddlers tried to cheat the vendors out of their more naïve customers, and in turn, cheat those customers out of money with promises of "miracle" solutions for everyday problems.

In the midst of all this, a hooded figure roamed. She had no direction, no plan, and no goal. The only thing she had plenty of was time to spend wondering aimlessly in her confused and twisted little world. She had opted to wear the hood because she felt that people might pay less attention to her that way. In the past, her violent antics might've at least partially been cries for attention from someone caring enough—and brave enough—to try to release her from her own personal hell. It was different now. Now all she wanted was to be left alone to sift through the jumbled mess inside of her. It seemed, though, that she only became more confused and more pained the longer she was left alone with her mind.

As she stood outside of the tavern, a family caught her eye on the other side of the square. There was a happy young couple, farmers by the look of them, towing along two young girls. Each girl looked to be roughly the same age that she and her sister had been before that day; the day Xena came. It pained her to know that she would never have this family, and for that, she despised the Warrior Princess, but she was tired. She knew that all of her efforts and rage at the other woman over the years had all been in vain, and as much as she had tried to hurt Xena, she had only succeeded in hurting herself more.

Callisto could no longer bear to look at the family that so strongly resembled her own. She turned away and headed into the tavern. Unbeknownst to her as she moved into the tavern, she had narrowly avoided bumping into the very woman who had been the object of her wrath and obsession for half of her life.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Celeste smiled as Gabrielle finished telling one of her many tales, "That was great! You really have a gift." The girl had spent her childhood in Cirra, a relatively smile village with few people of bardic talent. Through a strange turn of events, she had come to be taken in by a Corinthian nobleman and a very close friend of the king. In that high class culture, she had been exposed to many examples of fine literature, but she was truly impressed by Gabrielle's skill with words.

"Thank you," Gabrielle smiled pondering whether or not she should pry into this young woman's past. Sure, she had asked Callisto about the actual events of Cirra, and unstable as she was, she had taken Gabrielle's questions with a fair amount of grace that one usually wouldn't associate with her. Gabrielle was curious, though. She wanted to know more about that tragic little town. She figured if she could put the pieces together, then maybe she could understand how a person so peaceful turns out to be the cold blooded killer who first scarred her.

Then maybe she could truly forgive Callisto…

"So…what was it like?" She wondered out loud after several moments of thoughtful silence had passed.

"Growing up in Cirra, I mean."

Celeste looked thoughtful for a moment. It was a deeply pensive look that Gabrielle had seen twice before on Callisto's face, granted she was quick to dash any belief that she had humanity left in her.

"It was a beautiful village; in the middle of a small valley." Gabrielle nodded, remembering what she had seen of the abandoned city when she and Xena had visited some time ago. It's beauty had struck her instantly. "It all seems so far away now," she spoke forlornly, but then smiled, "but there are some things I still remember so clearly: helping my mother with the cooking, tending to the animals with father. I would often cause mischief in town with my sister, as well." She remembered fondly the many times that they had tricked farmer Deometes into believing that some of his animals had been stolen.

"And what about your sister?" Gabrielle wondered, "What was she like?"

The change in Celeste's demeanor was almost instant. At the mention of her sister, she went from a distant fondness to a terrible sadness. Still, she continued to humor the bard.

"She was not unlike you, actually. Callisto was always a very sensitive soul—any sort of suffering or discord within our village would weigh on her no matter how minor it was. At the same time, though, I admired her strength and artistic ability."

"Artistic ability?"

"Oh yes! There were times when she would draw for hours when there were no chores to do. Sometimes, she would paint when father would bring back some paints from a larger village after selling goods."

At this point, Celeste was beginning to grow tearful and the bard knew that the pain of her loss was beginning to overwhelm her. Not wanting to press further than the other woman was willing to tread, Gabrielle graciously left the conversion to die with that final statement.

"Thank you." She muttered quietly, grasping one of Celeste's hands while fighting to contain her own emotions. Celeste had keen observational skills because it truly did weigh heavy on Gabrielle to think about what the village of Cirra had lost. The weight was made even heavier with the knowledge that Xena had to bear the weight of causing so much pain not just to Cirra, but to countless other villages.

* * *

Having finished her business at the blacksmith, Xena thanked him and went on her way with determination written all over her. The next item of business would not be so easy. It had occurred to her that, while she was well versed in Callisto's battle tactics and schemes, she knew little of the woman on a personal level. She had no clue as to where the goddess might be spending her down time.

'That leaves only one option,' She thought, as she walked off in the direction of the nearest building.

She'd have to comb every inch of Corinth.

* * *

And here's three! I know it wasn't much in the way of plot progression, but I plan a more eventful fourth chapter. Anyway, please R&R!


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